Syrian state media reported Wednesday that three people were killed in clashes with security forces in Latakia province, the stronghold of the country’s Alawite minority.
“Three members of remnants of the former regime were killed after clashes with internal security forces” outside the coastal city of Jableh, state television said, as quoted by AFP.
The SANA news agency had earlier reported “clashes with a group of wanted outlaws” in the same area, noting that an unspecified number of security personnel were wounded in the fighting.
Since the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar Al-Assad last December, Syria’s Islamist authorities have repeatedly reported operations targeting what they describe as remnants of the former regime.
Assad, himself an Alawite, led the country for over two decades before being overthrown.
Latakia and the surrounding coastal region have remained flashpoints of violence. In March, the area witnessed a massacre of Alawite civilians, which authorities blamed on Assad loyalists accused of attacking security forces.
A national commission of inquiry later said at least 1,426 members of the minority were killed in the incident, while the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the toll exceeded 1,700.
Tensions have persisted in the region, with thousands joining demonstrations last month on the Alawite coast to protest renewed attacks against their community.